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A University of Florida Teacher Promotes Hatred for Israel; Will the State Act?
The University of Florida campus. Photo: Wiki Commons.
Despite the University of Florida (UF)’s strong administrative support for Zionist students post-Oct. 7, the concerns highlighted in a recent American Jewish Committee (AJC) report — finding that nearly one-third of American Jewish college students have encountered faculty-promoted antisemitism — remain relevant on campus.
Malini Johar Schueller, a professor in UF’s English department, is the faculty adviser for the school’s chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and, more recently, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). Schueller regularly uses her academic position to spread her anti-Israel ideology, fostering and fueling a hostile atmosphere on campus.
Schueller is listed as the #1395 endorser of the US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel Organizing Collective and the #2259 signer of the only publicly-made signed statement of the Scholars Against the War on Palestine. She is also a member of Faculty & Staff for Justice in Palestine at UF.
A little over a month after the Oct. 7 massacre carried out by Palestinian terrorists, Schueller changed her cover photo on Facebook from a photo of her and her husband to the Palestinian flag. In December 2023, she shared a photo of a bus advertisement originally posted by Refaat Alareer in 2021 reading “NORMAL PEOPLE BOYCOTT ISRAEL.” The caption claimed that “you do not have to be a Muslim or Arab to support Palestine, you just need not be an asshole,” to which she responded, “So true.”
A few months later, Schueller shared sentiments amidst the rise of encampments that swept the nation in late April 2024, hoping that UF faculty would follow in the footsteps of NYU faculty who “protected” protesters from arrest threats.
Schueller’s activism escalated beyond merely pro-Palestinian or anti-Israel sentiments and made statements supporting Palestinian “resistance” — a term that has been often used by Palestinians themselves to justify violence against Israelis and Jews.
For example, on the anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre, Schueller proclaimed: “Resistance is justified when people are occupied,” a commonly used chant to excuse violence against Israelis and Jews, according to CAMERA’s Dictionary of Hamas Supporters’ Chants and Slogans.
Schueller’s Orlando Sentinel piece, “False anti-Semitism charges blind us to real bigotry,” accuses Israel of being a settler-colonial and apartheid state, claims disputed by groups like the Anti-Defamation League and American Jewish Committee — as well as by many non-Jewish organizations and scholars. She further asserts that accusations of antisemitism wrongly portray all Jews as monolithic supporters of Israel, but a Pew Research Center report contradicts her claim, showing that most Jewish people oppose BDS, highlighting her tendency to amplify minority viewpoints at the expense of the majority.
As an educator, Schueller is positioned to teach the next generation of leaders, yet she openly boasts of using her academic position to advance her unacademic activism. Her teaching methods are outlined in her 2024 research article titled “Teaching Palestine: Challenges of Identification and Alliance.” In it, she advocates for an “activist reading” of Palestinian literature. She pushes students to see Palestinians through a “radical alterity” framework. She also uses and cites the work of authors, such as Susan Abulhawa, who reject the Jewish indigenous connection to the land of Israel and laud Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre.
Schueller’s courses include Introduction to Postcolonial Theory and Comparative Settler Colonialisms. Required readings are heavily one-sided, relying on activists and ideologues such as Frantz Fanon, Edward Said, and Abuhawa. Among the other readings is a text by Ghassan Kanafani, a former senior member of the US-designated Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine.
The student groups she advises, UF Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), champion the same anti-Zionist rhetoric she promotes.
UF SJP, for example, regularly posts similarly ideological messaging that crosses into antisemitic conspiracy theorizing, such as depicting “Zionist colonialism” as a profit-making conspiracy. They have erected displays repeating the antisemitic “Zionism is racism” canard, famously rejected by the United States and rescinded by the United Nations. UF SJP is intolerant of opposing viewpoints and has led harassment campaigns to shut down events featuring Israeli speakers.
Both the state government and university administration have been steadfast on their policies defending Jewish students and academic freedom. And as the Fall 2024 semester approached, Ray Rodrigues, the chancellor of the state university system, directed a state-mandated course syllabi evaluation for courses related to antisemitism for Florida’s 12 public universities.
But courses like Schueller’s fell through the cracks because they lacked specified keywords.
UF must take decisive action to continue to protect academic integrity and ensure that its classrooms remain spaces for genuine intellectual inquiry, not platforms for political indoctrination. Schueller’s teaching and activism may have violated UF’s Academic Freedom and Responsibility regulation. The university must conduct a thorough review of her course materials to ensure academia is disparate from activism. By demanding transparency, upholding academic standards, and rejecting the misuse of university resources for activism, UF can reaffirm its commitment to fostering a campus where all students can engage in open, respectful discourse without fear of discrimination.
Molly Seghi is a sophomore journalism student at the University of Florida. She is also the 2024-2025 CAMERA on Campus fellow.
The post A University of Florida Teacher Promotes Hatred for Israel; Will the State Act? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Rubio Heads to Israel Amid Tensions Among US Middle East Allies
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to members of the media, before departing for Israel at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, September 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Nathan Howard/Pool
US President Donald Trump’s top diplomat, Marco Rubio headed to Israel on Saturday, amid tensions with fellow US allies in the Middle East over Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar and expansion of settlements in the West Bank.
Speaking to reporters before departure, Rubio reiterated that the US and President Donald Trump were not happy about the strikes.
Rubio said the US relationship with Israel would not be affected, but that he would discuss with the Israelis how the strike would affect Trump’s desire to secure the return of all the hostages held by Hamas, get rid of the terrorists and end the Gaza war.
“What’s happened, has happened,” he said. “We’re gonna meet with them. We’re gonna talk about what the future holds,” he said.
“There are still 48 hostages that deserve to be released immediately, all at once. And there is still the hard work ahead once this ends, of rebuilding Gaza in a way that provides people the quality of life that they all want.”
Rubio said it had yet to be determined who would do that, who would pay for it and who would be in charge of the process.
After Israel, Rubio is due to join Trump’s planned visit to Britain next week.
Hamas still holds 48 hostages, and Qatar has been one of the mediators, along with the US, trying to secure a ceasefire deal that would include the captives’ release.
On Tuesday, Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an airstrike on Doha. US officials described it as a unilateral escalation that did not serve American or Israeli interests.
The strike on the territory of a close US ally sparked broad condemnation from other Arab states and derailed ceasefire and hostage talks brokered by Qatar.
On Friday, Rubio met with Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani at the White House, underscoring competing interests in the region that Rubio will seek to balance on his trip. Later that day, US President Donald Trump held dinner with the prime minister in New York.
Rubio’s trip comes ahead of high-level meetings at the United Nations in New York later this month. Countries including France and Britain are expected to recognize Palestinian statehood, a move opposed by Israel.
Washington says such recognition would bolster Hamas and Rubio has suggested the move could spur the annexation of the West Bank sought by hardline members of the Israeli government.
ON Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed an agreement to push ahead with a settlement expansion plan that would cut across West Bank land that the Palestinians seek for a state. Last week, the United Arab Emirates warned that this would cross a red line and undermine the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords that normalized UAE-Israel relations in 2020.
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Netanyahu Posts Message Appearing to Confirm Hamas Leaders Survived Doha Strike
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – In a statement posted to social media on Saturday evening, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the Qatar-based leadership of Hamas, reiterating that the jihadist group had to regard for the lives of Gazans and represented an obstacle to ending the war and releasing the Israelis it held hostage.
The wording of Netanyahu’s message appeared to confirm that the strike targeting the Hamas leaders in Doha was not crowned with success.
“The Hamas terrorists chiefs living in Qatar don’t care about the people in Gaza,” wrote Netanyahu. “They blocked all ceasefire attempts in order to endlessly drag out the war.” He added that “Getting rid of them would rid the main obstacle to releasing all our hostages and ending the war.”
Israel is yet to officially comment on the result of the strike, which has incurred widespread international criticism.
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Trump Hosts Qatari Prime Minister After Israeli Attack in Doha
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
US President Donald Trump held dinner with the Qatari prime minister in New York on Friday, days after US ally Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an attack in Qatar on Tuesday, a strike that risked derailing US-backed efforts to broker a truce in Gaza and end the nearly two-year-old conflict. The attack was widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond as an act that could escalate tensions in a region already on edge.
Trump expressed annoyance about the strike in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sought to assure the Qataris that such attacks would not happen again.
Trump and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani were joined by a top Trump adviser, US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“Great dinner with POTUS. Just ended,” Qatar’s deputy chief of mission, Hamah Al-Muftah, said on X.
The White House confirmed the dinner had taken place but offered no details.
The session followed an hour-long meeting that al-Thani had at the White House on Friday with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
A source briefed on the meeting said they discussed Qatar’s future as a mediator in the region and defense cooperation in the wake of the Israeli strikes against Hamas in Doha.
Trump said he was unhappy with Israel’s strike, which he described as a unilateral action that did not advance US or Israeli interests.
Washington counts Qatar as a strong Gulf ally. Qatar has been a main mediator in long-running negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and for a post-conflict plan for the territory.
Al-Thani blamed Israel on Tuesday for trying to sabotage chances for peace but said Qatar would not be deterred from its role as mediator.